The Grey Bruce Labour Council is pleased to announce the winners of this year’s Robert White Social Justice Award. This annual award is named after Robert White, Past President of the CAW and the Canadian Labour Congress. The Grey-Bruce Labour Council presents this award to graduating students who have demonstrated involvement in the promotion of activities that promote the values of social justice in the betterment of their community.

This year’s recipients were involved with a number of school and community related programming and activities. Labour Council President, Kevin Smith, was impressed with the commitment and drive of these graduating students. “These students remained focused on their advocacy and volunteer work despite a disrupted school year due to the pandemic.”

The students engaged in environmental protection and stewardship through volunteer work and advocacy in the form of petitions and protests. They developed and ran after school programs for children and served meals to those in need. Most impressive was their work in developing and delivering programs and activities to combat social injustice in their schools and with their peers across the province.

Typically, the Robert White Social Justice Award is awarded to five graduating students in Bruce and Grey County. The Labour Council was unable to run the program last year, so this year seven students were selected as recipients of the award. The seven winners for 2021 are:

Megan Acres - Georgian Bay Community School
James Adair - St. Mary’s High School
Paige Ballantyne - St. Mary’s High School
Meghan Calhoun - St. Mary’s High School
Ruth Duncan - St. Mary’s High School
Zoe Shave - Saugeen District Senior School
Chloe Watson - Grey Highland’s Secondary School

Anna Morrison, Labour Council Sergeant-at-Arms and retired OECTA member, works with a team of Labour Council delegates to review the submissions and to make sure this award opportunity is made available to as wide an audience as possible. Morrison has been involved with the awards for several years and she says, “that the breadth of involvement students in our area have on issues of social justice and betterment of their community and the human condition is inspiring.”

source: media release, Grey Bruce Labour Council